Goal: Punish and fire police officer who allegedly ignored requests for help from a student blackmailed with compromising photos.

When student Lauren McCluskey was blackmailed over stolen explicit photos she’d taken of herself, she approached University of Utah police expecting help and sympathy. Instead, the officer assigned to her case allegedly saved the photos she sent as evidence to his personal phone, showed them off to a coworker, and ignored her when she expressed her fear that she was in danger. Days later, at age 21, McCluskey was murdered by Melvin Rowland, a man she’d dated for several weeks before ending their relationship due to threatening behavior.

Officer Miguel Deras, the officer McCluskey approached, reportedly chose not to report the incident to Rowland’s parole officer, allowing him to walk freely across the University campus until he shot her to death on the night of October 22, 2018. University police chose not to record the incident, and Deras has since moved on to a job with the Logan, Utah police department. Evidence suggests that Logan police officials ignored Deras’s record of inappropriate behavior in domestic violence cases, including McCluskey’s.

Lauren McCluskey died because her fears weren’t taken seriously. Demand that Miguel Deras be stripped of his police certification and fired from his position before anyone else is allowed to be hurt or killed due to his negligence.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Chief Jensen,

The decision to hire Miguel Deras despite knowledge of his shocking disregard for Lauren McCluskey’s safety is a tragic betrayal of public trust. Officer Deras’ alleged misbehavior directly led to her killer being allowed to roam free even as Deras’ disgustingly showed off explicit photos of her which she’d given him in confidence.

Police officers are expected to be guardians of public law. Deras’ reported actions are directly counter to this expectation. I demand that you fire him immediately before anyone else is harmed by his gross negligence.